Suzanne, a British citizen, and
Nawzad Ashad Kader her
Kurdish fiancée are campaigning to stay in Britain
together. They are engaged
and plan to marry, but the Home Office have refused to
grant permission for Nawzad
to stay in the UK. They plan to
send him back to Northern Iraq, where he could face persecution and danger.
Nawzad arrived in the UK in August 2000, seeking refuge
from the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), a Kurdish Group
who were fighting Saddam Hussein's regime for Kurdish Independence. He was imprisoned and tortured by the KDP, and fled his country leaving his family and friends. He claimed asylum upon arrival in the UK.
Nawzad put his original asylum claim into the Home Office, but it was refused. He has appealed this decision, but on his last refusal, his firm of solicitors did not advise him that he had to make an appeal within ten days. Subsequently, Nawzad's case with the Home Office has been closed and he has been told that he has no further right to appeal.
Suzanne and Nawzad have no means of obtaining a settlement visa from Iraq, as there is no facility at the British Embassy in Baghdad for issuing them. Nawzad's life would be in danger given the current climate in Iraq, and there are no guarantees that he would be able to travel safely and return to the UK to be with his fiancée. Human Rights Watch's Middle Eastern Division have said that "at a time when the Foreign Office advises against British citizens travelling to Irag and warns of attacks by insurgents, it is perverse to round up Iraqis to send them back against their will. Safety and security are entirely relevant in Iraq today, so this is not the time to be forcing anyone to return. • 'Keep Suzanne and Nawzad Together In Britain" c/o 58 Sandhurst Street, Aigburth, Liverpool, L17 7BX email [email protected] • Model letter and petition: www.ncadc.org.uk